Never Trust a Minimum Wage Earner With a Friendly Sign

Last night, the drip-drops were coming down with regularity in the Bronx, making the chances that a game between the Red Sox and the Yankees seem nearly impossible because of terrible weather. Some folks got some bad advice and left the ballpark mere minutes before a first pitch time of 9:20 PM was announced. They turned into quite an army of angry, soaking wet rats:

With rain falling for hours and no start time announced until shortly before 9 p.m., hordes of fans began leaving the Stadium and heading home - some who said they had been advised that the game had been called by Yankee employees who walked the concourse holding pinstriped "How may I help you?" signs.

When a 9:20 p.m. start time was eventually announced over the public address system, a crowd on the sidewalk outside Gate 6 tried to get back into the Stadium, only to have the employees working the turnstiles promptly close the doors in their faces. Panicked fans began racing up and down the sidewalk, trying to find a way back into the ballpark, while others remained at Gate 6 either pleading or demanding to be let back in.

The Daily News photogs got some pretty good pictures including the one linked here, and were even threatened by Yankee security personnel to stop documenting what become a near-riot. One person was arrested for fighting with a cop. Several folks got back into the Stadium at Gate 4 but security put the kibosh on that pretty quickly.

What's the lesson to be learned here? Baseball teams will do everything in their power to get a game in regardless of the weather and they sometimes leave fans in the dark as to what their true intentions will be. Indeed, it's nice to keep a stadium-ful of folks spending money on concessions and alcohol for a couple hours while you wait for Sam Champion to tell you to hit the bricks. But as a fan, under no circumstances should you trust a part-time security guard for actual information when nothing has been officially announced over the P.A. system. If you're really in that much of a rush to get on the Major Deegan, it's your funeral.